A great number of seats have been developed, particularly for cyclists, which are intended to improve the comfort of the rider. Much attention has been devoted to improving the cushioning or resiliency of the seat by providing an improved suspension associated with the seat or a more forgiving padding in the seat itself.
To a large extent, a cyclist's discomfort arises because the cyclist is not static and the buttocks are constantly moving relative to the seat. This problem is partly addressed in prior art devices where the seat is made in two portions which are independently movable, each portion being adapted to alternately support one of the buttocks. An example of such a structure is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,387,925. Such seats are nevertheless unsatisfactory unless they can be customized to an exact shape which conforms to the rider's anatomy.
Other attempts to improve the comfort of the rider have concentrated on the seat's surface, as in U.S. Pat. No. 5,333,930, where the seat is covered by a multitude of incompressible beads intended to enhance blood circulation to the crotch and buttock regions and to allow continuous air circulation therebetween.
The seat, in accordance with this invention, is intended for use with a mounting arrangement whereby the relative position of the seat to the cycle frame changes during pedalling so that the seat effectively has a dynamic changing shape which varies in accordance with the position of the rider and whether the rider's legs are in a downward pedalling stroke or an upward pedalling stroke. The unique shape of the seat does not itself form part of this invention and is more fully described in Applicant's co-pending application entitled "Mounting Structure for Cycle Seat" of which the disclosure is herein incorporated by reference.
The object of this invention is to provide an improved upholstery which will maximize the user's comfort, whether seated on a cycle or a chair.